The Sweet Baboo Dance
by Casix Thistlebane
Summary: Xander's first Christmas away from home. it has to be better than the 19 years outside.


okay, I'm taking a break from weeks of writing dark  
philosofic to get out a little fluffy sweetness. this  
is what I get for letting myself get dragged kicking  
and screaming into the holiday spirit....  
  
title: The Sweet Baboo Dance  
author: Casix Thistlebane  
  
disclaimer: the characters are property of Fox and  
Joss Whedon, Charlie Brown Christmas was created by  
Charles Schultz (rip), Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer  
is someone else's fault, Michael Stipe, the flea, and  
Drew Barrymore are property of themselves and came  
together last year on Olive the Other Reindeer, and  
Christians and the Pagans is by Dar Williams and  
thanks to my suitemate for playing that song at me!  
  
summary: Xander's first Christmas away from home. it  
has to be better than the 19 years outside.  
  
The Sweet Baboo Dance  
by Casix Thistlebane  
  
December 19, 2000  
8:00 pm  
  
"It'll be romantic." Anya was looking fondly at the  
tiny evergreen she'd just finished placing on Xander's  
trunk-turned-coffee table. "We'll have a tree and  
presents, and we can curl up on the couch with hot  
cocoa to watch tiny cartoon characters spout  
sentimental drivel and feel all nostalgic for the good  
old days."  
  
Xander pulled a bag of popcorn out of the microwave  
and popped a few still steaming kernels into his  
mouth. "Okay. The only problems being that a) I  
always watch Charlie Brown Christmas with Willow, b)  
the tree is made of cheap imitation plastic, and c)  
the hot cocoa would just be weird, what with it being  
eighty degrees outside."  
  
"We can still watch Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer and,  
ooo, that cute one with the flea and Michael Stipe!"  
  
"Good point, but I can't feel nostalgic because I  
haven't actually seen either and did you just say  
something about Michael Stipe and a flea?"  
  
"And Drew Barrymore. It was on last year when you  
wouldn't let me come over because you'd be embarrassed  
by the fact that you sleep in the yard every year.   
Which has to be one of the most suicidal things I've  
ever heard! You could have been eaten AND we couldn't  
have romantic Christmas gift innuendo!"  
  
"Yeah." Xander bit into another handful of popcorn  
and looked over at the little tree. "I guess I don't  
have to do that this year. Ooo, lets make a popcorn  
chain for the tree!"  
  
"You've never had a real Christmas, have you?" Anya's  
eyes got all soft and pitiful, which made Xander  
twitch. He had to make a joke, quick.  
  
"Yeah. I never had to worry about being disillusioned  
about Santa Claus because my parents never bothered to  
tell me the myth." That didn't work. Anya's eyes  
just got even softer. "What about you? You've spent  
the last thousand years being vengeance girl. Not  
what I'd call a 'normal' Christmas."  
  
"We still had Christmas back when I was first mortal.   
I think. Maybe it was Solstice? We had a tree...."  
  
"Tell you what, we'll have our first Christmases  
together. What could be more romantic than that?"  
  
"And sexual Christmas gift innuendo?"  
  
"Do you want your gift now or on Christmas?" Xander  
raised an eyebrow and pulled off his work shirt. Anya  
took the popcorn and grinned.  
  
"Can't I have both?"  
  
An hour later, the popcorn was cold, the tree still  
bare and they were both dressed only in the tinsel and  
garlands Anya had bought with the tree. They sat  
curled together on the couch with mugs of chocolate  
milk.  
  
"My marshmallows won't melt." Anya leaned against  
Xander's sweaty chest.   
  
"We can probably fix that. But you wanted to cool  
down."  
  
"We still need to decorate."  
  
"I think this is perfect."  
  
"We can't put this on our Christmas cards."  
  
"True," Xander sat up a bit and looked around the  
apartment. "Where do you want to start?"  
  
"The ceiling." Anya took a long sip and stared at the  
ceiling fan. "Let's cover it in missel toe."  
  
"Then we'd have to kiss everyone, all the time."  
  
"Just in the bedroom then."  
  
"Deal."  
  
  
December 23, 2000  
7:45 pm  
  
*Loo loo loo loo loo loo loo loo*  
  
"So that's what Christmas is all about." Anya smiled  
as she noted the similarity between Charlie Brown's  
tree and her little glittery one. There were already  
a few small gifts from various scoobies under the  
tree. "I'm sorry Willow couldn't come."  
  
Xander shrugged. "She'll see it at our Christmas  
party."  
  
"Do we really have to have them all over on Christmas  
Eve?"  
  
"Sure. They'll be gone in plenty of time for us to  
have a romantic evening. But Buffy, Dawn and their  
mom need to get out of the house and be surrounded by  
friends. And since Giles doesn't have anyone to  
celebrate with, and I bought that menorah and all the  
colored candles so we can have a multi-faith  
celebration for Willow and Tara."  
  
"Okay. So long as they're gone by midnight. I want a  
warm, close Christmas with people I love."  
  
"You don't love them?"  
  
"They still don't like me."  
  
"Nonsense. They agreed to come, didn't they?"  
  
Anya just frowned and changed the subject. "Won't  
Willow be upset that we're just watching a Christian  
based special?"  
  
"I've got the Rugrats Hanukkah special too." Xander  
hit stop and started rewinding the video. "Besides,  
she has to see the Snoopy Dance."  
  
"You never do the Snoopy Dance for me."  
  
"The Snoopy Dance is for Willow. You don't want to  
have to share it with her."  
  
"But Willow has a dance. I don't even have that."  
  
Xander smiled at the VCR and hit play suddenly. He'd  
memorized the counter for the video years ago, and the  
dance scene came on immediately. He stood, bounced  
from foot to foot on his toes, waved his arms and  
"ponied" around in a circle. His hair, already mussed  
from lying on the couch, swung ever so slightly from  
side to side as he moved his head in time with his  
feet. Anya's laughter filled the room.  
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
"The Little-Red-Headed-Girl Dance! Try it."  
  
It took some urging, and Xander had to put the music  
on repeat from his CD so he wouldn't have to rewind  
the video again. Soon enough, Anya got the hang of  
it, and even managed to comment on having "naturally  
curly hair" through her laughter.  
  
Xander kicked out his toes, shrugged his shoulders up,  
and bobbed his head forward. When Anya gave him a  
look, he explained: "The Linus Dance." He bobbed  
closer to her, and she started turning again. They  
met in front of the TV, where Lucy was pestering  
Schroder about Jingle Bells, and kissed. Xander  
wrapped his arms around her waist and spun her around,  
lifting her off the floor.  
  
"What dance is this?" Her voice was breathless  
between kisses.  
  
"The Fred and Ginger Dance." Xander set her down but  
didn't let go. "It's not Peanuts, but it'll do."  
  
They kissed again and she moved toward the bedroom  
door. "I have something for you."  
  
"Innuendo?"  
  
"A real present." She was going to explain further,  
but the phone rang. Xander kissed her quickly and  
promised to join her again in a moment.  
  
Anya slipped into the bedroom and pulled a small,  
neatly wrapped box she'd been hiding since they  
decided to have a real Christmas together. She hoped  
she had the Christmas traditions figured out right.   
What if Xander hated it? He gave her so much, and she  
wanted to do something sweet and perfect in return.   
She hoped he liked it.  
  
She ducked back into the main room, and stopped  
mid-grin as she saw the pale look on Xander's face as  
he meekly said good-bye and hung up. He stood staring  
at the phone, his shoulders shaking, and Anya set her  
gift on the coffee table and wrapped her arms around  
him.  
  
"What's wrong? Who was that?"  
  
"My mom." His voice was little more than a hoarse  
whisper and he clasped her hand as tightly as his jaw.  
"She wants me to go home for Christmas."  
  
  
  
December 24, 2000  
3:00 pm  
  
"Xander, you're not going!"  
  
Xander looked around for his jacket, and wondered if  
he should bring a gift. But he was still not quite  
old enough to give them what they really wanted. He  
knew which stores wouldn't bother to card him but  
didn't want to add to their habit. "They're my family  
Anya." He shivered. He didn't want to go. It was  
about the last thing he wanted to do. But his mother  
had sounded heart broken on the phone. "We've talked  
about this. I owe them something. I'll just go for a  
few hours, and be back in plenty of time for the  
party."  
  
"You owe them exactly what they gave you: nothing.   
You've never had family togetherness on Christmas  
before, why start now?"  
  
"They never asked me before." Xander found his coat  
and finally settled on one of the bottles of sparkling  
cider they'd bought for the party. With his luck,  
they wouldn't notice the difference. "Look, I need to  
do this. I need closure, time to actually say so long  
and thanks for all the therapy. They don't usually  
get really drunk till dark anyway. I'll be back long  
before then."  
  
"Are you trying to convince me or yourself?"  
  
Xander didn't reply. He didn't know the answer. He  
just kissed her and headed out. Anya cursed, grabbed  
her coat, and followed.   
  
"Anya, what are you doing?"  
  
"If you're so determined to go then I'm going with  
you."  
  
"No. I don't want you getting hurt."  
  
"I thought you said you'd leave before they got  
violent!"  
  
"Anya--"  
  
"If you're going to be fine then there's no reason I  
can't go. I'm not letting you go back alone."  
  
"They won't leave you alone just because you're a  
guest. I'm not going to let them hurt you."  
  
"What about you? Do you think I want you hurt?"  
  
Xander turned away and muttered something. Anya  
grabbed his arm and spun him around.  
  
"What did you say?"  
  
"I said I'm used to it!" Xander shouted and Anya was  
suddenly very aware of how much larger he was than  
her. His hand was so tight on the bottle that the  
foil ripped and his knuckles went clear. She saw  
veins sticking out on his hands and released his arm,  
her heart breaking ever so slightly as she became  
suddenly aware of the anger he kept hidden just under  
the surface. He would never hurt her, she knew that,  
but she recoiled anyway.  
  
Xander's face crumpled as he saw her back up and he  
sucked in a deep breath to calm himself.   
  
"I'm going alone."  
  
He left before she could argue.  
  
  
  
December 24, 2000  
5:35 pm  
  
The moment the knock came on the door, Anya ran to  
open it. She'd been fidgeting for hours and finally  
had spent her time watching Christmas specials on  
cable while waiting for Xander to come home. She  
flung the door open and was startled by Tara and  
Willow yelling "happy holidays" and thrusting a large  
box at her. She blinked at them.  
  
"You're not Xander." She made it sound as though they  
had just committed the worst crime of all Which of  
course they had.  
  
"Is he not here?" Tara frowned. "We wanted to come  
early. Willow kept telling me about he Snoopy Dance  
and said I had to see it."  
  
"I'm sure it's cute." Anya assured her. Her mind, as  
usual, was focused somewhere else. "But Xander's not  
back and its almost dark out."  
  
"Don't worry, I'm sure he'll be back soon." Willow  
toyed with the end of her sweater. "Besides, he's  
spent every Christmas after dark outside since he was  
eight. Can we come in?"  
  
"He has?" Tara gave Willow a horrified look. Willow  
deftly avoided the topic with the skill bourne of  
years of practice.  
  
"While the hallway is nice--I mean, off white walls  
and everything!--it's kind of like wow, inside  
Xander's apartment! Complete with furniture and--and  
decorations and--yeah, he spends every Christmas Eve  
outside to avoid his family's drunken fights."  
  
Tara looked concerned while Willow cast about for a  
new topic. Anya rescued her from further  
explanations.  
  
"Yeah, but he isn't year except that he went over  
there to visit and he said he'd be back by now!"  
  
"He's at his parents?" Willow's face drained of  
color. "On purpose?"  
  
"Did you try calling them?" Tara shifted the box from  
hand to hand nervously. "Maybe he's on his way home?"  
  
"I can't call," Anya fidgeted again. "Because what  
would I say? I mean 'hi, tell your son to get his ass  
back to his apartment the guests are arriving'? Wait,  
that might work."  
  
"You didn't think of it, didja?" Willow gave a little  
smirk. "But, um, maybe we should go over there?   
'Cause while Xander's usually a really together guy,  
he's not above drinking, especially when he's with his  
family...."  
  
"Okay, where's your car?"  
  
"Right. Calling." Willow and Tara followed Anya in.   
Tara carefully set their present on the floor by the  
trunk, noting that it was a little too big for fitting  
under the tree. She then sat down next to Willow and  
squeezed her hand.  
  
"He's fine."  
  
"Of course he is. How can he not be? He's only with  
his psycho-abusive parents whom he used to HIDE from  
every year,"  
  
"There's no answer!" Anya slammed her palms down on  
the counter. "How far is it to walk?"  
  
"A couple of miles, if we avoid direct paths through  
vampire infested dark places." Willow said, then  
jerked up straight. "He didn't walk, did he? 'Cause  
it's one thing to just be in your yard at night, but  
in the graveyards--"  
  
"He drove."  
  
A knock had just barely finished vibrating the door  
when Anya flung it open, to reveal a pleased looking  
Giles.  
  
"We wish you a— now see here, where are we going?"  
  
Willow explained as she and Anya ushered him down the  
stairs to the car. Tara tacked a quick note on the  
metal door with a refrigerator magnet and followed.  
  
  
  
December 24, 2000  
5:50 pm  
  
Xander rubbed his shoulder from where his father's  
fist had connected just before he'd managed to duck  
out the back door. He accelerated, wanting nothing  
more than to get back home to his real family and away  
from the people he'd been forced to spend 19 years of  
his life with. He was only glad that Rory had  
distracted his father with a cup of champagne while he  
made good his escape with a plate of cookies. It was  
like old times again, only this time, he didn't have  
to spend the night alone in his yard.  
  
He took a corner a little too fast, and had to stop  
and back up before he realized that yes, that was Dawn  
stalking down the street looking annoyed and near  
tears.  
  
He had to park the car, get out, and shout her name  
before she realized he was there.  
  
"Xander!" She ran over to him, and stopped just short  
of throwing her arms around him. They sat down on the  
hood of his car in the deserted street. "I was just  
heading to your apartment."  
  
"On foot, minus one sister and mother?"  
  
"Yeah. So?" Dawn tried to look unaffected, but tears  
managed to sneak out of the corners of her eyes.   
"Mom's still pretty tired, so Buffy declared we  
weren't going to go. I said that even if she didn't  
want to have any fun on Christmas, than at least I  
should be able to, and she yelled at me for not  
sharing with the family, and I called her a name, so  
Mom yelled at me, and I finally just left. Buffy  
tried to stop me, but I ducked through Mrs. Finster's  
bushes and she couldn't fit."  
  
Xander nodded and offered her a cookie. "Families can  
be tough sometimes." He lay back carefully on the  
hood of the car, and gestured for her to do the same.   
She noticed his slight flinch, and he smiled. "Yeah,  
mine's one of the toughest there is. Seriously,  
Buffy's only trying to look out for you and your mom.   
I know you know that."  
  
"But Mom still wanted to go until Buffy said she  
couldn't. She wasn't even going to call, I don't  
think. She was too busy trying to be Super-Caretaker  
to think about it."  
  
"You should be happy to have someone looking out for  
you." Xander bit into a cookie of his own. "Only  
person I ever had for that was Willow. And Jesse, but  
I don't think you ever met him."  
  
"What happened to him? Did he move?"  
  
"He was turned by vampires. I had to stake him  
myself."  
  
"Oh. That sucks."  
  
Xander smiled at the stars. "Just a bit."  
  
They sat there in silence for a moment. Xander wanted  
to give Dawn a chance to recover her emotions before  
suggesting they return to the apartment. Finally,  
Dawn spoke up.  
  
"You know, I used to stare up at the sky on Christmas  
Eve, and wonder which star lead the three kings,"  
  
"Ever figure out which one?"  
  
"No. I'd pick one every year, but they were probably  
just a bunch of different ones. And sometimes it  
would be raining, or snowy, like a couple years ago.   
Then I stopped really believing there was a star to  
lead anyone. Just a random star which happened to fit  
the bill."  
  
"That's rather cynical of you." Xander pointed up  
towards one star, particularly bright. "How about  
that one?"  
  
"That's Mars. I think. And besides, its to the  
northwest."  
  
"Well, it may not lead to an infant in a trough, but  
it does lead to my apartment. Well, at least until  
the road curves. Come on, you can call your mom from  
there."  
  
"Can I finish my cookie first?"  
  
"Sure. But save room, Anya's been cooking all  
afternoon." Xander thought about that for a moment,  
then took a handful of cookies. "On second thought,  
eat up. I've tried her baking before."  
  
Dawn laughed and leaned on his shoulder, chocolate  
melting to her fingers. "Thanks."  
  
"For what?"  
  
"I dunno. Just... thanks."  
  
A horn broke the moment, and Xander sat up a bit too  
quickly. His shoulder complained, but he ignored it  
in favor of the red convertible in front of him, and  
the myriad of girls running at him.  
  
"Xander! We've been looking all over for you!"  
  
Explanations and holiday greetings were exchanged,  
though Dawn remained silent. Xander shot her a  
knowing look as they climbed back into cars to head to  
his apartment. He knew she didn't want to talk about  
it with the others. No one wants to talk about family  
problems.  
  
  
  
December 24, 2000  
6 pm to Midnight  
  
"God bless ye merry gentlemen, let nothing you dismay  
remember Christ our savior was born upon this day  
to save us all from Satan's power when we had gone  
astray  
oh tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy,  
oh tidings of comfort and joy."  
  
Giles strummed a final chord on his guitar, his face  
flush with singing and cheerful light drinking. The  
crowd on the couch applauded; Tara and Willow were  
curled by one arm, Xander and Anya by another. Buffy  
and Riley sat on the floor, and Dawn leaned on her  
mother's shoulder. Xander had been instrumental in  
convincing Buffy to come after all. A simple guilt  
trip was really all it took.  
  
They were taking turns in making some sort of  
performance. Willow had talked Xander into doing the  
Snoopy Dance for everyone, which was immediately  
followed by every other dance (which the careful  
exception of the Linus Dance and the  
Little-Red-Headed-Girl Dance), and Willow had  
carefully lit all the candles in the room, aside from  
those on the menorah, with a prayer for each. They'd  
been singing carols for a little while once the  
Rugrats were over, and Giles had been coaxed into a  
solo by a joint effort from Buffy, Willow, and Joyce.  
  
There was a long, comfortable pause when he was done,  
before Tara carefully took the acoustic guitar from  
him, asking politely through occasional stutters if  
she could have a go.  
  
Giles nodded, and Willow looked curiously confused.   
Tara just smiled.  
  
"This is a song t-that I heard a few years ago. I-I'm  
not sure if I can play it right, but--"  
  
"You'll do wonderfully." Giles assured her, and took  
her seat on the couch. Tara lowered her head shyly  
and carefully positioned her hands on the guitar.  
  
She only played a few chords before giving up and  
simply singing without it.  
  
"Amber called her uncle, said 'We're up here for the  
holiday  
Jane and I were having Solstice, now we need a place  
to stay,'  
And her Christ-loving uncle watched his wife hang Mary  
on a tree  
He watched his son hang candy canes all ringed with  
red dye number three  
He told his niece 'It's Christmas Eve I know our life  
is not your style,'  
She said 'Christmas is like Solstice and we miss you  
and it's been awhile,'  
  
"So the Christians and the Pagans sit together at the  
table  
Finding faith and common ground the best that they  
were able  
Just before the meal was served, hands were held and  
prayers were said  
Sending hope for peace on Earth to all their gods and  
goddesses.  
  
"The food was great, the tree plugged in, the meal had  
gone without a hitch  
Till Timmy turned to Amber and said 'Is it true that  
you're a witch?'  
His mom jumped up and said 'The pies are burning' and  
she hit the kitchen  
and it was Jane who spoke; she said 'it's true because  
Am's not a Christian,  
But we love trees, we love the snow, the friends we  
have, the world we share  
And you find magic from your god and we find magic  
everywhere,'  
  
"So the Christians and the Pagans sit together at the  
table  
Finding faith and common ground the best that they  
were able  
Where does magic come from? I think magic's in the  
learning  
Cause now when Christians sit with Pagans, only  
pumpkin pies are burning.  
  
"When Amber tried to do the dishes, her aunt said  
'Really no don't bother,'  
Amber's uncle saw how Amber looked like Tim and like  
her father  
He thought about his brother; how they hadn't spoken  
in a year  
He thought he'd call him up and say 'It's Christmas  
and your daughter's here,'  
He thought of fathers, sons, and brothers; saw his  
young son tug his sleeve  
Saying 'Can I be a pagan?' Dad said 'We'll discuss it  
when they leave,'  
  
"So the Christians and the Pagans sit together at the  
table  
Finding faith and common ground the best that they  
were able  
Lighting trees in darkness; learning news ways from  
the old  
and making sense of history and drawing warmth out of  
the cold."  
  
Tara finished and smiled sheepishly at the applause  
she received. She opened her mouth as if to offer  
some further explanation, but shrugged when Giles  
started up another song before she could. Soon,  
everyone was singing as best they could, though  
several of them didn't quite know all the words.   
Xander pulled out the plate of cookies he'd rescued  
from his house and announced it was time for desert as  
though they hadn't already eaten scores of gingerbread  
and brownies. Present were exchanged, and everyone  
cycled through the lone piece of missel toe Xander'd  
hung from the fan. Dawn stayed the longest, getting  
pecks on the cheek from Giles, Riley, Willow, and Tara  
before Xander noted in his meandering celebration  
where she was and gave her a firm hug and a chaste  
kiss on the lips. Dawn nearly fainted, but settled  
for grinning like an idiot for the rest of the  
evening.  
  
By the time midnight rolled around, Joyce had nearly  
fallen asleep on the couch, and the virgin eggnog had  
a distinctly rum-like flavor to it, so the crowd began  
slowly cycling out. The Summers women left first,  
Buffy explaining that she had to get her mother home  
while she could still drive, since Buffy driving  
wasn't exactly the most relaxing thing in the world,  
and Dawn stole a few extra cookies and a longing  
glance at the missel toe before following. Riley left  
shortly after, then Giles, who planned on attending a  
midnight mass, and then the girls. Willow was  
giggling suspiciously, but pleaded innocence when  
Xander playfully accused her of spiking the 'nog, and  
Anya graciously but hurriedly ushered them out the  
door. She and Xander collapsed on the couch in a sea  
of wrapping paper and paper plates.  
  
"So," Xander stretched and leaned on Anya's head.   
"That was a real Christmas, huh?"  
  
"Well, except for that whole getting scared that you  
were dead or beaten at your parent's house, yeah. I  
think." Anya kicked some of the ribbons aside and put  
her feet on the coffee table, striking a small box.   
She'd forgotten all about it.  
  
"We should do this more often," Xander murmured,  
half-asleep. Anya jogged his shoulder to wake him up  
before presenting him with the box.  
  
"I meant to give it to you yesterday, but I forgot."  
  
Xander frowned a bit, and concentrated on leaving no  
bit of the paper larger than an inch untouched.   
Finally, he got down to a cardboard gift box, and  
opened it.  
  
Inside sat a starship Enterprise tree ornament, with a  
plug to put into an empty string light socket. He  
lifted it out reverently, and just stared at it for a  
long time.  
  
Anya's hopes fell. "You hate it, don't you. It's  
tacky, and I should never have bought it."  
  
"It blinks?" Was all Xander said. She nodded.   
Xander plugged it in, and the lights around the sides  
began running through a simple chase sequence. He  
stared at it wide eyed before suddenly turning and  
wrapping Anya in an enormous hug.  
  
"You like it?"  
  
"Honey, that's the best gift anyone has ever given  
me." He kissed her on the forehead. "And to think,  
all I got you was a diamond solitaire necklace,"  
  
"A what?" Anya's eyes lit up as he pulled a box out  
of his pocket. She cast a sidelong glance at him.   
"Where'd you get the money for this?"  
  
"Actually, I've had it for years." He pulled it out  
and put it around her neck. "My granddad had given it  
to my grandma on their first Christmas together, and  
when she died, he gave it to me. I've been debating  
who to give it to ever since." Xander kissed her and  
gave his trademark grin. "So, will you be my sweet  
baboo?"  
  
"If you promise never to call me that in public."  
  
He picked her up. "Well then, we've got a date with  
some much underused missel toe."  
  
The End  



End file.
